we did pass permanent Livestock Disaster Assistance as part of our farm bill

it is so important that we get that done. We are committed to doing that.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, for this very important hearing and bringing the voices of real people.

I actually am optimistic, listening to the concerns about closing offshore loopholes.

I am actually very proud of the collective work that we have done to focus on waste, fraud, and abuse.

The strength of our country has been our ability to out-educate and out-innovate the competition.

We need to give children a better start in the beginning.

We are the only ones debating whether or not somebody should make a profit off of something that is important to everybody.

The goal has to be that student interest rates should not increase costs for students short term or long term.

we do not want to tax students with more debt in order to go to deficit reduction as a country.

Nobody else in the world has that debate but us right now.

I rise to congratulate my friend and colleague, the senior Senator from Michigan. This is the day he has cast his 12,000th vote. What is most significant is not the quantity of his votes, but the quality of his votes. Each one of those has…

I am so pleased to be joining colleagues in celebrating the anniversary of the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and to move on to what we need to do on full paycheck fairness with the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act. I wish…

We wish to thank Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senator Jack Reed for their tireless leadership in this critical legislation.

I ask unanimous consent that morning business be extended until 9 p.m., with all other provisions remaining in effect. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

I am here tonight to talk about agriculture and the 16 million people all across our country who have jobs because of agriculture. What I am very concerned about is the way in which an extension is being talked about as part of the larger…

Again, I thank the Senator from Oregon for his leadership on disaster assistance, on support for the organic agriculture community, and for others that benefit from his leadership, forestry and other areas. The Senator from Oregon has been…

Yes. In fact, the organic provisions are not funded, are not extended. So, again, when we look at the future of agricultural choices for consumers, this is not extended.

If I can say to my colleague, I certainly cannot indicate what the intent is of another colleague. But I will tell you that my mom always said: Actions speak louder than words. So I can tell you that the actions here, the actions that have…

In this extension that he has proposed, the subsidies, called direct payments, that we have all agreed should not be given during high prices and good times to farmers, extend with absolutely no reductions. They are fully extended for the…

I would say to my friend and colleague from Oregon, there is no way to explain this. None. There is absolutely no way to explain this other than agriculture is just not a priority. I mean, despite our best efforts and our working together…

If I might respond, yes, that is exactly what is happening. Without consultation with me or with the chairman in the House, we now have a partial extension of the farm bill. These are complex issues that involve a lot of pieces when you…

Yes, I would say to my friend and strong advocate on these issues, it is not. Those disaster provisions are not in the extension he has arbitrarily on his own put forward.

I would just say to my friend from Oregon that it makes no sense. This is certainly not about fairness. It is not about an open process. I mean, when the Senator mentioned earlier that we had worked in a very open and transparent process…

I first wish to thank Senator Merkley, who has been tireless in bringing forward the issues of farmers and ranchers in Oregon. And to my colleagues who are here on the floor from New York and New Jersey, I had the opportunity to be in New…